Exchange with 1C: how balances move across

The balance sits in 1C while the count happens in the warehouse, with a phone or terminal. How data travels between the two systems directly affects the speed and accuracy of the count. If one item is written in two places under different names or codes, the difference comes from the exchange, not the counting. Below: three ways to exchange data, the matching key and the places where mistakes happen most.

Three ways to exchange data

• Through a file. You save the stock balance report from 1C to Excel or CSV, load it into the counting software, and after the count export the result to a file and return it to 1C. No special set-up is needed, and for small and medium warehouses it is enough.
• A ready-made connector. An external processing module or extension attached to the configuration prepares the list itself and fills the document with the result. It depends on your configuration and version, and a 1C developer usually sets it up.
• An API or web service. Data moves by itself, with no files. It suits companies that count often and have several warehouses.

The choice is easy: with two or three counts a year a file will do; with a cycle count every month or week a ready-made connection pays off quickly.

File exchange step by step

1. In 1C, run the stock balance report for one specific warehouse and one specific date. The report's name depends on the configuration.
2. Save the report to Excel and delete the rows of groups and subtotals.
3. Check the columns: article or code, name, barcode, unit of measure, balance.
4. Load it into the counting software and compare the row count and total balance with the original report.
5. After the count, get the result file: booked, counted, difference.
6. Once the manager approves the differences, open the inventory document in 1C and enter the result.

In many configurations, documents for posting surpluses and writing off shortages are created from the inventory document. Their names may differ in yours, so agree the routine with the accountant in advance.

Matching: key, units and characteristics

In both systems each item must be found by the same "key". The best key is a barcode or a unique code or article in 1C. Matching by names is risky: "Milk 1 l" and "Milk, 1 litre" are two different records. The key must be unique, stable and never empty. Give an item without a code an internal code before the count and enter it in 1C as well.

Three more places where the exchange breaks "silently":

• Units. If 1C keeps the balance in the base unit (pieces) while the count is in cartons, the figures differ many times over. Put the pack coefficient into the list.
• Characteristics. Size and colour in 1C may be different characteristics of one product. If the file does not put them in separate rows or a column, a shirt will show one combined total.
• Batches and expiry. For food and medicines the balance is kept by batch, so counting must go by batch too.

The time gap: balance as of when

The balance "freezes" the moment it is exported, but on counting day the warehouse keeps working: sales, receiving, dispatch. There are two ways round it. One is to stop movement during the count. The other is to record movement and compare the difference with "balance at the start of the count plus receipts minus issues". The second is harder, so for most goods the simplest approach is to pause receiving and dispatch for the counting day.

Common mistakes

• A stale copy of the list sits on someone's personal computer and everyone opens a different file. Keep a single copy in one place.
• Zero-balance items do not appear in the report, so goods found in the warehouse but zero in the books are invisible to the software. Include zero balances or decide in advance how to enter an "item not on the list".
• Differences are loaded into 1C without approval, and the error passes straight into the books.
• Balances of several warehouses are mixed in one file with no warehouse column, so one zone's item lands in another zone's difference.

Conclusion

In an exchange with 1C, routine matters more than technology: a single key, correct units, exact time and an approval step. It is better to start with a file and think about automation once the process works. If you would rather hand the count to specialists, StockCheck delivers the result as Excel, PDF or a file for loading into 1C.